The maiden edition of Diamond Bank’s TechFest brought together some of Nigeria’s tech enthusiasts and industry stakeholders to explore and propose technological solutions to problems in the society. The events held on the 15th – 16th May, 2018 at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos.
Innovation only thrives when people believe in the power of their own ideas!
This is the first platform of its kind to house innovation, ideas and digital development. We are glad to be charting this course with @techfestng #SparkYourCuriosity #SwitchOnCuriosity #TechFest2018 pic.twitter.com/wbrugz5JVA
— Interswitch Group (@InterswitchGRP) May 15, 2018
Organised by Diamond Bank in collaboration with companies such as MTN, Deloitte, Interswitch, Visa, NIBSS and Beat FM, the two-day event hosted several sessions (panels) on various aspects of the country’s tech ecosystem. The event also examined how technology can be used to help businesses grow and perform better.
We have gleaned 5 key lessons from the event.
Tech is Not Gender-Biased
The first important lesson from the event is that technology is not the exclusive of any gender and women can be involved in tech innovations and platforms too. The event was an eye-opening session with female facilitators taking the stage to talk on the topic “The Tech Girl Rising”.
Live @techfest
come #sparkyourcuriosity #day #1 #techfest
come witness live at women who have made it in tech speak!!!#techgirlrising
@DiamondBankNG @techfestng pic.twitter.com/C2E6d8TZDg— Diamond TV (@mydiamondtvapp) May 15, 2018
This session was handled by brilliant women from various fields who encouraged the female gender to bravely venture into tech-related fields. The speakers included; Linda Quaynor (Partner/West Africa Strategy & Operations Leader, Deloitte & Touche), Ola Williams (Director, Solution Sales Microsoft Nigeria), Lynda Saint Nwafor (Chief Enterprise Business Officer, MTN), Banke Alawaye (Program Manager, CodeLagos), and Oluwakemi Okunsanya (VP, Visa West Africa).
Big Data will Benefit Businesses
To analyze large volumes of consumer Internet data, especially for SMEs, the need for upgraded IT infrastructure and tools cannot be undermined. This among other things would not only help companies understand the behavioural pattern of their customers but in turn, help business owners serve their customers better.
Topic : Big Data For Small Businesses.
Second panel discussion of the day currently ongoing at the #TechFest
Venue : Landmark Event Centre, Oniru, VI, Lagos.#TechFest #SparkYourCuriosity pic.twitter.com/gCNBqNxIHg— TechFestng (@techfestng) May 15, 2018
Big Data is gradually taking over the tech space and would largely influence businesses in the nearest future.
Nigeria has Several Innovative Startups
Several startups and industry players where at TechFest to interact with other stakeholders and attendees. And a startup competition which involved pitches by startups from pre-selected hubs around Nigeria proved to be one of the highlights of the event.
#TechFest2018 comes to an official end. Congratulations to Team @beat_drone #SparkYourCuriosity pic.twitter.com/ZicZdysil5
— Techpoint Africa (@Techpointdotng) May 16, 2018
Chosen from the geographical regions of Nigeria, the featured startups includes; Afrimash (Enugu), Pronov (Enugu); GeroCare (Abuja), Thrive Agric (Abuja); Peepscreen (Enugu), TrillzApp (Enugu); SchoolMo (Kaduna), Payant (Kaduna); and Riby (Lagos), Beat Drone (Lagos).
Over the two-day event, these startups pitched their ideas, but Beat Drone, a startup that provides tech solutions using drones and data, was named winner to take home the N5 million cash prize and N5 million in technical supports from the sponsors of the event. This is a testament to the fact that Nigeria is blessed with several innovative startups that would do well if given the opportunities to scale.
5G Might Succeed 4G Sooner than Expected
The new next generation networking standard, 5G, which will eventually succeed 4G, might be rolled out in Nigeria sooner than we thought. This expectation was heightened by MTN’s demo for the much-talked about 5G technology by a smart robot at the event.
Come and experience technology at its peak. This VR technology for improving efficiency and safety mechanisms in the mining industry will blow you away! #SparkYourCuriosity #Techfest2018 pic.twitter.com/QEJQc1lgen
— MTN Nigeria (@MTNNG) May 15, 2018
As a revolutionary technology, 5G will provide an astronomical increase in capacity, speed, connected devices, reliability, and lower latency. And with a very high frequency bandwidth, it can help bridge that gap in a way that previous mobile technology were not able to.
There Would Always be Jobs for Humans
There have been several analysis and comments going on about robots rendering human services useless, but TechFest relinquished such fears. So, it has been established that robots will not take all our jobs as there would always be jobs for humans. In fact, as more technology companies spring up, there would be more jobs.
Let's talk about technology! Did you know that the first mobile phone came out in 1973? Can you still remember the first mobile phone you ever used? Share with us!
Don't forget to register and be a part of #TechFest2018 👉https://t.co/mLV1lyNSoP #SparkYourCuriosity pic.twitter.com/NkPLSaveF4
— TechFestng (@techfestng) May 14, 2018
The only set of people who should be worried are those who are considered illiterates of tommorow; those who are not ready to learn, unlearn and relearn.
The TechFest event was simply amazing and we hope to have more events of this kind to help improve the tech ecosystem in Nigeria.
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